EU Approves Random House and Penguin Merger

The merger between Pearson and Bertelsmann is right on track with the summer 2013 timeline established when it was first announced last year. The companies have received the quintessential OK from Australia, New Zealand, US, and now the European Union, leaving only Canada and China to approve everything.

The upcoming merger between two of the largest publishing companies in the world will account for 1/4 of all books currently being published. The main reason they decided to band together was to join forces for a more cohesive digital publishing strategy and have more leverage to iron out distribution deals with Amazon.

Random House, the biggest book publisher in the United States and Britain, has been buoyed by the success of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy of novels. Penguin is the No. 2 player in the United States and third in Britain.

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.